Between a Rock and a Hard Place
by DeLiRiOuS aka CAPTAIN obvious
Summary: He is innocent of the crime, yet he is evil. Does Kagome defend the devil against pure souls, all because he did not commit this particular crime? The key to her past lies within the life of him...NK
1. ONE

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Between a Rock and a Hard Place 

BY_ captain obvious_

** Disclaimer: **Is this where I state the painfully obvious?

**He is innocent of the crime, yet he is evil. Does Kagome defend the devil against pure souls, all because he did not commit this particular crime? {Nara/Kago}**

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The Prologue: **Wonderfully Horrible **

_"We must hang together, or surely we shall hang separately" -- Benjamin Franklin_

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Kagome sat next to the door, as tears streamed down her face. She wanted to understand, but she could not. Why had this happened? And, why was she given all of this horrible, horrible truth?

"Mother?" she whimpered, as she looked up at the older woman. "Why?"

"To tell you now would be a sin against you, daughter." Kagome looked up at the woman standing over her. He mother's hair shined in the dim light of the room, and Kagome felt as if she were meeting an angel. She felt so wonderfully horrible. Wonderful that she was finally with her mother, and horrible because it seemed that she was slipping away, just as quickly.

"Please, then milady, sin against me. Give me my sin. For this I must understand." The young girl clutched on to the other woman's sleeve. Looking into her brown eyes, begging for knowledge.

"Please Mistress." Kagome begged, reverting back to the formality she was taught to show to her betters.

The other woman reached down and softly stroked Kagome's cheek. "The time for knowledge is not now. Darkness shall reign, for the present. But, remember you are the light, the only light. Those who may seem pure have a secret to hold. You are the truth, the only. They know this. They can feel it, and for that, they will hate you."

Instead of trying to decipher her lady mother's words, Kagome went another route. "But why do you have to go?"

"Because there can only be _one _ truth. I realize that now. We are two of a rare kind you see. And, there must be a balance. In this dark world, there must be a balance. That balance is I."

"Then why do you go?"

"Because it is time to pass the torch."

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**ONE**

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The sun was just beginning to set, and the cool night breezes were beginning to make their nightly rounds. The small town was getting ready to slumber, and rest for one more night. The streets that only a few moments before were filled with people, were now sparse and only a few straggler's and tired shop owners remained. Among these few, was a girl, a girl who was distraught and alone.

Her clothes told tales that no words could tell. Her clothes were drenched in various smells and stains. She smelled of a strong cleanser, dirty, filthy reused water, and the sweat of her body and that of others. Her clothes had stains that had patterns and lines, the tell tale spots of grease and grim dotted all over her ruined uniform. Her clothes were rumpled and torn in spots, and her stockings, her terribly expensive stockings, had holes and runs in them like no body's business. Smelly, filthy, dirty, grimy, and those were just her clothes.

She was hugging herself, as moved her head from side to side, looking around, as if someone were watching her. She paid no mind to anything, and excused herself when she found that she had bumped into another person on the street. She paid no mind, when a boy with secrets of his own rammed into her. He pushed past her with force, and did not stop to help when she began to tumble. When she cried out, the child paid no mind to her either, and he continued to race down the street, or at least he tried.

A man, who had been watching the girl for sometime, seemed to magically appear, in quick swift motions, he caught the girl and also in that same time span, pulled on the boy's tiny ponytail, trapping them both.

"You should watch where you run, boy. I've never found it polite to push down a woman, and would hope that that same lesson would be learned and followed by the next generation." The young boy, Kohaku looked up at his captor and gasped, as did the girl beside him. Mr. Naraku. The Naraku had caught him; oh the gods were cruel to him.

"And, you" The tall man said, as he turned his attention to the girl, "should watch where you are going. It will be of no good to you, to look over your shoulder, if you can't see what's directly in front of you."

"Yes Mr. Naraku." They both answered in monotone. None of the three of them knowing that just by meeting, at that spot, at that place, that they had unknowingly changed their futures.

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Mr. Naraku held on tight to Kagome's wrist, and for a moment she was grateful. Had he not grabbed her hand, she would have fallen on the hard ground, and lied there for all of the night. No one would have helped her until morning. But, after the initial save, Kagome would have been obliged for him to let go of her hand.

"Now you two go about your own ways, and try _not_ stay out of trouble." Mr. Naraku winked at them, and chuckled with mischief, before letting go of both of them, and walking in the other direction.

After he had gone, the two teenagers looked at each other with bemused looks. "Sorry Kagome, I didn't mean to push you." Kohaku said with embarrassed red cheeks.

"That's okay." She whispered.

"You won't tell my sister? She'd be awful disappointed in me."

"I won't Kohaku. Now, you get going, before the sun completely sets, I know your sister is going to want you home."

The younger boy smiled, and then began to walk away, "Hey thanks Kagome! I'll see you-" Before Kohaku could finish his statement, a feminine shriek ripped through the night air, and an eye burning pure (white) light pushed out all over the area.

Kagome and Kohaku turned to the sound of the shriek, despite the light, only to see two people only a few feet away. They saw the figure of a man with long wavy hair crouching beside a young woman. The woman was bleeding, badly, and the man's hands were covered with blood, and his hands were suspiciously close to her neck. The woman was already dead, but the man was beginning to shake her. The two teenagers ran over to the pair, and watched with horrific fascination. The young woman was slowly beginning to change.

Her soft and youthful face was losing less of its glow, as the unidentified white light was beginning to fade. The softness of her face was waning, and her skin was becoming tighter, and age lines began to appear. Her youthful appearance was also beginning to fade, and the effects of time were showing on her skin. She was getting older, as the white light dimmed. After another minute, the light vanished, as did the woman's youth. The woman was old now, shriveled and wrinkled, dotted with age spots, and transparent skin.

Kagome heard Kohaku's sharp intake, but Kagome stood with no motions. She watched with large and blank eyes, as Mr. Naraku turned to them from his crouching place, beside the dead woman. "Go." He whispered with such intensity that Kagome was uprooted from her spot, and she blindly ran away. So blindly, that she did not watch where she placed her feet. So blindly, that she did not see the carelessly abandoned toy doll, of which she tripped over.

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"I say he done it, Judge. I mean the man's hands were covered with her blood. If that don't say that he's a murder, than I don't know what does." A large crowd then began to bellow and scream in agreement.

"Naraku is the killer, Judge Sesshomaru. It's sure as I'm standing here."

"Yeah Judge." Another man yelled.

A large group of the town's men were gathered in the Judge's large home, voicing their opinions. Sessomaru sat in front of the men, hearing what the town council had to say. "So, you all believe that Naraku did kill the woman, Kikyo."

"Yes!" They all bellowed.

"Well, a fair trial must be given to him, regardless."

"That evil man doesn't deserve a trial." One man called out, and a ripple of agreement followed through the crowd.

"That may be true, but he is still entitled to it. His trial will be set four days from now. We will try him at the lake. Do not worry gentleman, I have every faith that he will not succeed when he is tried. Mr. Naraku will come to his well desereved watery end."

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Kagome watched as the men laughed at the judge's words, and shook her head. She walked away from the room, and made her way back to the kitchens. She rubbed the ever present bump on her head. The swelling had reduced greatly, and she could now cover up the bump with her hair. She remembered how she had gotten the bump, and again shook her head.

She had been there, the night that the Lady Kikyo had died. She had seen Naraku there, with the blood on his hands, or so she was told. Kagome could only remember bits and pieces of the night, and Kohaku had filled in the gaps. But, Kagome was still not sure of everything she was told. That night's events had been slanted, by Kohaku, and Kagome did knew that she wasn't being told the whole truth.

Kagome had a gripping feeling that Naraku was not in fact the killer. Whenever the word 'kill' or 'murder' were associated with the wealthy land owner, warning bells would go off inside her mind. Something told her that Naraku had not killed Lady Kikyo. The only problem was she could not really prove it, in her current state. And, also, even if she could, would she?

Naraku was an evil man. There was no discussion about that. He was a demon that snatched the life out of a everything he could get his hands on. Malignant to the end, and spiteful to the core was he. Mysterious and dangerous and horribly lethal, Naraku was no man to toy with. He had commited countless heinous acts, but no one could ever prove that he was ever involved. His record was clean and sparkled innocently, but his reputation was dark and torn. The town had been waiting…watching…hoping for the smooth Naraku to slip up, and reveal his true nature. Now that he was finally caught in a bad situation, the town that he had worked hard to build was turning on him. They had finally caught him, not caring that he was not the one they should have been pursuing.

**They hold the devil in a cage, never caring that mouse is to blame.....**

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So, here lied Kagome's plight. By all moral codes, and her mother's conscience, Kagome should stand up for Naraku and tell the council that she knew that he did not commit the crime. But, Naraku was evil and sneaky and had probably done much worse than kill a woman. Would she not be doing the world a favor by letting him face his trial? Would it not be for the betterment of the world?

_"Innocence is a difficult thing to achieve, Kagome. The line between a innocence and evil is hard to find."_ The voice of Kagome's sainted mother, Kaede, drifted into her mind.

_"I do not think that I could, in good conscience, keep a man down, if I had the power to raise him up." _Kagome closed her eyes, and tried to block out her mother.

"_Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse."_

_"Child, ye will face too many decisions in life. And, not one of them will be easy. And, most of them will end up with one person flying in the air and the other lying on the ground. The only trick is to decide which person takes which role."_

Her mother's conscience was instilled with in her, and Kagome knew that she would never live to forget the shame of letting her mother down. Kagome had to decide if could live with the guilt of that or not.

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Confused? You should be.

**captain obvious**

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**===I know people usually make excuses for their other stories, but I don't want to do that here. Questions about Chivalry will be on bio page. Not that I think any of you are interested........**

**Hey drop me a line. **


	2. TWO

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**TWO **

_"We must hang together, or surely we shall hang separately" --_ Benjamin Franklin 

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Kagome was frustrated. She had been trying to do her normal housework for the judge, but Mr. Naraku kept coming to mind. She could not shake the guilt that was gripping on to her back with its iron claws that were embedded into her spine. She felt ashamed and confused and angry with herself, one too many emotions for one at work.

Kagome could not afford to slack off on her chores, because Judge Sesshomaru did not take kindly to anything less than perfection. If he found that anything was not done to his supreme satisfaction, he would seek out the weak link and terminate it. Kagome could not afford to have her job terminated.

She lived alone, in her dead mother's hut that was sitting on Judge Sesshomaru's land. He was the center of her world. He was her employer, her supplier, and her overzealous landlord. She needed her job to pay for his extravagant taxes, and for household needs. If she fell behind on her taxes he would promptly throw her out and destroy her mother's hut. She could not let that happen.

So, for all of these reasons, she would need to get Mr. Naraku off of her mind. And, it seemed the only way to do this was to help him. Besides, she knew that her mother, the witch Kaede would not have it any other way. When she came to this resolution, her mind became at ease and slowly let the subject of the incarcerated landowner slip back to her housework.

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The sun was setting outside Master Inuyasha's bedroom. Kagome stopped her cleaning for a moment, and propped her arm on the top of her broomstick, as she stared at the disappearing sun. She was amazed by the colors of the dying sun. After a moment or so, she turned from the window, and continued to sweep up Master Inuyasha's room. She hurried her normal tidying up of the room. She knew that she would be free to leave once the room was cleaned to the best of her ability. It was impossible to clean the Judge's son's room, because Inuyasha had done irreversible damage to it. The Judge had settled on being able to see from one corner of the room to the other. Not that he was being at all generous, because that was a feat within itself.

To keep from spending all day cleaning up the room, the cleaning staff at Judge Sesshomaru's house had made a schedule. Every member would clean some part of the room, so that by the time all twelve members had finished, the room would be somewhat less of a carriage wreck. Today, Kagome did the sweeping of the room, and for that she was grateful; she did not have time to do much else.

After she had done her best to salvage the dirty floor, Kagome flew down the stairs, to the Staff Room. Once there, she opened the time in/out book that Judge Sesshomaru had all of his servants sign, when they came to work and when they departed. She quickly scribbled in her time, when she heard the chimes of the large clock that stood in the town square. She slammed the book close, and dashed out of his estate.

Kagome ran with fervor, as the night started to awake. She was trying to reach the town jail, as soon as possible. Mr. Naraku was being detained in the abandoned jailhouse. Kagome knew, as did everyone, that the town bailiff left the one room jailhouse unsupervised, as soon as the town sheriff went home. The Bailiff would stroll on down to The Thunder Brother's pub and drink the night away. _If_ he came back to the jailhouse, from a night of drinking, he would bring a bottle of sake with him. He would wobble all the way down the street, too drunk to walk in a straight line himself.

This would be a perfect time for any detained criminal to escape, except the bailiff was the most vicious man when he was drunk, probably why the Sheriff never fired him. Also, the Sheriff had bloodthirsty dogs that were known throughout the countryside to have demon's blood running through their veins. They had never lost a escapee in twenty years…The criminal, no matter his strength, would not get very far if he tried to run.

Kagome knew that Mr. Naraku would not flee, and she was counting on that fact. She knew he held to much pride and brains to run like dog, only to be chased down by one. Kagome slowed down to a walking pace when she saw the jailhouse in sight. She hid behind a large tree, when she saw that the Sheriff and the Bailiff where exiting the jail at that same moment. The Sheriff walked over to his horse, which was silently standing by a post, which was already lit with a candle. The Sheriff undid the knot that was holding the horse to the post, before hoping on the great animal. The Sheriff looked down at the bailiff that was by his side.

"Well, have a goodnight Sheriff. And, send my regards to the missus." The Bailiff said with fake smile.

"I sure will. The missus hasn't been sleeping to well… Well, goodnight boy. I'm trusting you with that criminal."

"Yes sir." The Bailiff called as the older man rode away at a fast pace. Kagome watched as the Sheriff rode past her, and she pushed herself closer to the tree. She felt the wind slap her face, as he went by, and she breathed in a sigh of relief when she saw his form vanish into the night. Kagome turned around, and watched as the Bailiff sneered at the retreating form of his employer, before turning around, and starting towards the pub.

Kagome waited until she heard the loud slam of the pub doors, before she left the safety of her hiding place. She quickly crept through the shadows, until she was in front of the jailhouse. Kagome breathed in, before checking to see that no one was near the isolated jailhouse, before turning the knob and letting herself in.

The first thing that swept over her was the strong smell of mildew and many combinations of foul odors that knocked her in the face. Kagome braced herself, not willing to fall backwards. Kagome squared her shoulders, and quietly began walking in the dark. The jailhouse was only one large room, and Kagome spotted the jail cells from across the room. The room was dark, and the only light was coming from a small window in the jail cell that had several steel bars across it. The window allowed the moon to shyly seep into the room, and allowed Kagome to see her target.

Standing up on his chained legs, Naraku had his back to his intended guest. His long and wavy black hair was flowing, unbound around him. Kagome noticed that he was still wearing the clothes that he had been wearing the day that the sheriff had arrested him, in front of the entire town. But, now they were ripped and torn all over. Kagome inhaled, before opening her mouth.

"Mr. Naraku?" At the sound of her voice, the man turned around to greet his visitor. He recognized the girl as the one that had been there the night the woman had died.

"What?" He sneered. Naraku was sure she was here to curse him as many had, but he was slightly surprised that she had the nerve to do it at nightfall, when the bumbling Bailiff wasn't around to protect her.

"Sir, I know you didn't kill her." Kagome's voice cut through the cold air that hung in the room.

Naraku was slightly surprised, and raised an eyebrow. "Is that right?" He stepped closer to the jail cell bars, as he stared intently at her. Despite the large space between them, the pretty girl took an awkward step backward.

"Yes, I believe it is Mr. Naraku. I-I cannot remember much from that night, because of my injury, but I know that you did not kill Lady Kikyo." Naraku smiled eerily at her.

"If you do not remember, how can you be so sure?"

"My mother always told me to follow that gut feeling when it comes to me. And, I have a gut feeling that you did not do it." She said bravely, although she did keep her distance.

Naraku's playful mood suddenly changed to anger. "Well isn't that brilliant? As wonderful I feel that some young girl believes I'm innocent, surely you can see why I'm not calling out the bans? What is the word of a woman?" He growled.

"Nothing," Kagome answered quietly, although inside she was bristling.

"Exactly," The man said, before turning away.

"But, from the way I view it, words don't have to mean anything." She replied, trying to keep herself from becoming angry.

"What in the devil are you talking about?"

"I'm saying I know how to help you survive your trial, but I need your word that you will not take my kindness and turn it against me." For the first time that night, Kagome stood nose to nose with Mr. Naraku. Kagome courageously looked straight into his burning wine colored eyes, with her bluish gray ones. For what seemed like ages, their eyes mixed and danced with each other, almost challenging each other to look away. Kagome felt herself being imprisoned by his ever passionate gaze, and found that she would not break the gaze. Kagome was holding her breath, wondering what his answer would be…hoping he would agree.

Kagome felt her arm being jerked forward, by Mr. Naraku. She found her body being pressed against the widely spaced bars. The bars were so widely spaced that she was easily pulled through them, into the powerful arms of the evil man. She looked up into his eyes, preparing to scream, when she felt his lips descend on hers. Kagome was in shock for a moment, before she felt her body molding to his. Heat radiated through the air, and Kagome could no longer control the feeling of his lips doing wicked things to hers. She felt her hands clutch his upper arms for support, as the kiss took over her. Kagome soon began to feel herself responding to Naraku's aggressive kiss. Inwardly, her brain was screaming for her to step away and run for all that was good and right in the world, but her body vastly ignored her mind.

The kiss continued for another hot moment before the incarcerated pulled away. He only moved his head enough to look into her passion clouded eyes. "Free me." He whispered into her ear, as he successfully evaded her major condition to helping him.

He watched as she closed her eyes, and whispered between ragged breaths, "Yes." He smirked to himself (knowing that his kiss had made her forget her ultimatum) before pulling her back into his arms, for another passion filled kiss, realizing that would seal the deal.

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**Watery Grave**

It was a hot afternoon, and it had been a hot morning, and Mother Nature promised a sweltering night. The town's people were irritable, because of this, and ready for the show to go on. The 'show' was the trial of Oniguma Naraku. Everyone in the town was accounted for, because they were all attending the trial. There had not been a large trial in the town for over five years, and the people found themselves hungry for blood.

A large trial was very different from a normal type of trial. A large trial was always done at the Shikon Lake that ran through the out skirts of town. A large trial was only conducted for a serious or heinous crime, such as the slaying of a noble woman (as Mr. Naraku had). The one accused of the crime had his hands tied behind his back, and heavy bricks tied to each of his feet. The accused would then be carried out into the deepest part of the lake, by boat, and then dropped off of the side. If the accused were innocent, he would float back up to the top of the lake, because his soul was light and pure. But if his soul was heavy with sin, then he would not float and, he would be left at the bottom of the lake until he drowned.

Needless to say, they had not met an innocent man to date.

So, here stood Mr. Naraku who was being prepared to serve a similar fate to men that had come before him. He looked about him, and saw the angry and bloodthirsty faces of his townspeople. He looked about, until he saw his uncle, Oniguma, who was only staring at him with a raised eyebrow. The resemblance between the two men was frightening, only age separating their looks. And, the town flinched, knowing that Naraku would always haunt them, through his uncle.

Naraku only raised an eyebrow back at his uncle, before turning away. He felt himself being lifted off the ground, and being carried to a near by boat. At this moment, nothing was going through Naraku's head. He didn't feel anything. Nothingness was a state of mind that Naraku was very familiar with. When his body was roughly slammed into the crude boat, Naraku closed his eyes and thought of something pleasurable. He remembered how he worked to make this town what it was; despite the fact the townspeople were less than appreciative. He was proud of the blood and sweat he had to shed to build this town, and it would always be his.

Naraku could hear in the background Judge Sesshomaru's voice listing off his supposed crimes, and Naraku narrowed his eyes at the words. He had done nothing.

As the rowing towards the targeted spot started, Naraku remembered Kagura. Kagura was a beautiful noblewoman that he had married when he was very young. She had been there during the trying years, when Naraku was nothing, and had not a dime to his name. She had worked along side him, and got her hands bloody and dirty. Although, he did not love her, Naraku would always care for her because she gave her life for what he believed in.

Naraku shook his head, and let the beautiful Kagura slip from his mind. Regret and shame surrounded that name, and Naraku supposed that it always would, because he wasn't ever going to get the chance to set things right. The boat stopped and Naraku looked down at the deep blue depths that lay underneath his feet. He felt his body being lifted once again. Naraku wanted to struggle or scream out, but he had decided long ago that his dying moments would not be in vain. He would pass away with dignity. So, Naraku held his body rigid, and he felt the hands leave his body. For a moment he was in the air, and in that millisecond, Naraku felt free and weightless. So burden free and careless…he would miss that. Naraku looked towards the sky and watched the clouds that formed into an angry mob, as he searched for the dying sun. He began to panic; he needed to see the sun one last time… It was the only thing he needed to see.

Then, the bittersweet moment passed all to quickly, and Naraku plunged into the lake, with his eyes centered on the sun.

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Kagome flinched when she heard the loud splash that echoed through the crowd. Kagome stared at the lake and saw the ripples of the water crashing towards the sandy beach. It all seemed too brutal, when she heard the town cheering and jeering towards the fallen Naraku. It all seemed too barbaric and disgusting…and Kagome couldn't understand why anyone would want to watch the death of another.

Kagome scanned the crowd, until she found the Judge Sesshomaru, his son, and Mr. Oniguma standing together watching as Naraku quickly slid under the water. The three stared intently at the water, waiting to see if he would resurface. When it was clear that he would not, Sesshomaru and Oniguma smirked at one another and the Judge raised his hand. The jeering town quieted, and looked towards him.

"The water does not lie. Mr. Naraku is guilty of every crime. Let us give him over to his watery grave, and let it be noted in the books, that on this day, the Mighty Naraku has fallen." At this, the town quickly turned and left rapidly, wanting leave before the vengeful spirit of Naraku the Dead would break through his drowned body and haunt the area surrounding the lake. Kagome noted that Judge Sesshomaru and Mr. Oniguma left the execution together, as if they were friends…

_"How strange, I thought Mr. Oniguma was a relative of Mr. Naraku…"_ Kagome wondered how anyone could be friendly with the man that had killed their relative, but the Oniguma's were always a strange family. Kagome shook her head, and looked around to make certain that she was alone. When she was, Kagome pulled out her dagger, took a deep breath, and dove into the lake. Kagome swam as quickly as she could towards the dying man, but found that it was more difficult than she had thought.

There were so many skeletons of the dead anchored to the bottom and it made it difficult for her to guess which one was him. Her eyes were bleary, and she found that her lungs were burning with lack of fresh air. Kagome felt her head beginning to pound against her skull and she felt light headed…

"NO!" she screamed to herself. Kagome refused to give up now…there was a man down there that she had promised life to. She could not live with herself if she did not save him… she refused to watch another person die. Kagome pushed herself closer to the middle of the lake and went closer to the bottom. Kagome spotted a fleshed form that was dressed in pure white, and she knew that she had found him. When she was finally upon him, Kagome noticed with distress that he was not moving.

Kagome felt as if there were no time to waste, so she tried her best to cut the bricks away from his feet. Her hands were weak against the pressure of the water, and her fingers continually fumbled as she limply held the knife in her hand. Kagome did not give up, and persistently tore the ropes until he was free. Kagome dropped dagger and pulled the limp form of Mr. Naraku up to the top of the water. Kagome opened her mouth and drank in the air greedily, when her head reached the surface. She looked over at the man, and found that his eyes were closed and his head hung down.

"Mr. Naraku?" She asked softly towards the figure. When there was no response, Kagome quickly swam towards the shore, knowing she would have to give him her breath. She did her best to hurry, but the added weight was difficult for her. Finally, she made it to the beach, and she slowly pulled them both on the sand. She laid the older man gently on the sand, and inspected him. She put her ear to his chest and sighed when she found that his heart was still beating, faintly.

Kagome wondered what do, knowing that if she were to ask for help, they both would end up dead. She felt a slam in her chest, wishing her mother were here. The witch Kaede knew how to cure any ailment. At the mention of her mother, Kagome remembered that she had taught Kagome how to revive another. Kagome blushed at the thought, but shyly made her way to his mouth. Kagome put her thumb and her finger on the bridge of his nose, before opening his mouth. Kagome blushed again, before laying her mouth on his, and breathing into his mouth. When she got no response, she pushed on his chest, and then repeated the procedure another time. On her second time, she heard a loud cough and knew that Mr. Naraku was awake. Kagome closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. He had not died.

Mr. Naraku was on his knees coughing up the water that had traveled down his lungs. Kagome did as her mother had done, and lightly stroked his back. Kagome ignored her unease at touching him, even the most innocent of touches made a large blush rise to her cheeks. The heat that his body gave off pushed straight through her small hand. Soon, Mr. Naraku stopped his coughing and she watched as he just breathed in and out, heavily. His head was still down, and his long hair surrounded his face. Kagome's gaze was set on the man, and she did not have time to react when he suddenly whipped around, and grabbed her wrist in a hard hold.

"Will you kill me as well girl, when my back has turned?" He asked fiercely. His burning wine eyes were charging into her placid blue-gray ones. Kagome was frightened at the sudden switch in power, and her large eyes grew. Then, her fear quickly changed into anger. Her lungs were still on fire, her brain was dancing in her skull, and she felt fatigued. How dare this ingrate treat her so, after all she had risked for him?

"Why do that, when I could have let you die?" Kagome snapped at him.

"I am in your debt girl. And, I detest being in the mercy of another. You have displeased me." He sneered at her. Kagome felt her blood cooking under skin, how dare he?

"What will you have me do, throw you back in the lake? You are surely tempting me, Milord." She asked sarcastically.

Mr. Naraku laughs coldly at the chambermaid. "You are an amusing one, I may just let you live. No, all I want is to have my soiled name cleared. Some fiend has muddied it. I want to live amongst my people, as I always have. These are my lands, and I will not give them up." Kagome heard the pride in his voice when he spoke of the town, and for a moment she was not angry, but she quickly regained it.

"So, what does that mean to me, if I may be asking." Kagome asked in a more polite tone, remembering she was speaking to her better. Although, since he was technically dead…

"I intend for you to help me girl. You saw the accident, and somewhere in that mind of yours, you remember who did it." Mr. Naraku smirked at the girl shaking with rage.

"Why should I give you my aid? You are nothing but a cruel horrible man. And, if it weren't for my mother's conscience, you never would have lived." Kagome yelled, as she stood up. Kagome forgot to mention that the reminder that she had lost all memories of that night made her angry.

Mr. Naraku chuckles at the feisty girl, "Well let me thank your mother's conscience then. I may not be a "good" man, but what is good anyway? Is there truly a right or wrong, my young friend? No, I do not believe it to be so. Right and wrong, good and bad, they are nothing but trifles to me. I believe that a man lives by his own moral code, a personal set of laws, if you will. Who are you to dictate what mine shall be?"

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**End of Chapter**

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**:P**

**Thanks for reviewing. I got six more than I thought I would get. N/K isn't extremely popular. **

**Oh, and I want to give thanks to the Medieval Era for giving me the watery grave scene…your barbaric ways of giving criminals trials has helped my story. Thanks! ;p**

**Your Captain Speaking. **

**Delirious. **

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	3. THREE

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**THREE**

_"We must hang together, or surely we shall hang separately" --_ Benjamin Franklin

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It was a perfect night. Perfect nights were hard to come by, and Kagome couldn't help see the entire affair as ironic. The air was mellow, and the sky was clear. The night creatures lowered their night noises to mere taps in the wind. The humans said their good nights early in the evening. It was a perfect night…a perfectly ironic night. 

Had it been a normal night, Kagome would have visited her momma's grave, and sat quietly next to the packed earth, pretending it was momma sitting beside her. Then, after a sufficient amount of time, Kagome would have strolled home, where she would enjoy a meager yet all the same pleasing meal. Afterwards, she would have said her nightly prayers then went to sleep. A perfect yet uneventful night it would have been for Kagome. That is, if it had been a normal night.

In the bleak reality of things, Kagome was not enjoying a peaceful night, she was actually sporting a quite rowdy one, and she had not even _reached _home. She was arguing with Mr. Naraku, over where they both should sleep that night. Kagome refused to have him staying in her hut, terribly afraid that one of the other villagers would see them and have all sorts of nastiness come about. How could Kagome explain having a dead man sleeping in her room? Not only was it scandalous, it was almost a contradiction. Or, it would be if Mr. Naraku were actually dead.

"Well, I suppose we will have to go to my home, _Xanadu. _I refuse to let you out of my sight, until you have proven yourself worthy. I don't trust that you aren't waiting to open that pretty little mouth of yours and sing like a little bird directly into the Judge's ear."

Kagome turned red at the thought. She was being made a fool of. She had made him promise that he would let her alone after she saved him, and here he was trespassing on her kindness. "Mr. Naraku, you gave your word that you would not turn my kindness against me, if I assisted you. I have helped you once, which was our deal, and now it is your turn to uphold you end, by not manipulating me into helping you a second time. You are trespassing on my kindness, _sir_."

Naraku chuckled at the infuriated young woman. She was so amusing. "I never promised you anything. A deal cannot be made if the other party never actually agreed to the terms. If I remember correctly, you made the proposition, and I evaded it with a proposition of my own." The man smirked at Kagome as she remembered the kiss that they had shared only a few days earlier.

"So you tricked me?" she yelled, after she forced down her blush.

"What else would expect from a gentleman with my reputation?"

Kagome scoffs at the haughty Naraku, while clenching her fists. "What gentleman? There is not a gentleman around for miles!"

"Perhaps…perhaps…I suppose you will have to sleep with dogs then my girl, because that is the only thing you will find… As a matter of fact, I do believe that sleeping with dogs, myself in particular, may just do you some good. You are much to frigid to be so young, that should only come with age or bad appearance."

"How dare you insult me? I saved you!"

"Will you be holding that over my head for the next fifty years?" He asked with a sigh.

"No." Kagome answered while biting her lip.

"Glad that we have come to an understanding. Now if we could agree on _our_ sleeping arrangements, then I do believe this will have been a successful day."

Kagome realized that there was truly no point in arguing with Mr. Naraku; he wanted to sleep at her home, then chances are he would find away to make sure that happened. "Fine. We can go to my hut, and hope that no one sees you. Although, I don't understand why you can't go to your own home. Or do as I suggested and go some place else. There's nothing left for you here."

Naraku glared at the girl, and she could have sworn that his burnt crimson eyes were blood red for a moment. "Everything is here. I made this town, and I refuse to abandon it, because the townspeople believe anything Sesshomaru says. Sesshomaru…the man with the silver spoon shoved so far up his noble ass that he can feel it in his throat." Kagome's eyes widened, she had never heard such language and could not believe that the words had passed an elite's lips.

Naraku noticed her discomfort and smirked, "Too blunt for you my dear? I said it in the most delicate way I could."

"I should hate to think what you would have said if you were being perfectly blunt." She answered.

"You shall learn to deal with my language or learn to close your ears. I am who I must be and I will not change."

"Such a comfort… If you will not leave, then what do you intend to do? You cannot remain a spirit forever. I certainly cannot have you living in my hut until you die."

"I assure you that I will vacate your residence as soon as you help me prove my innocence."

"I remember nothing." Kagome answered instantly.

"Something will spark your memory. Until then, you will spy on Sesshomaru and find out what is going in his house. He wanted me gone, and I want to know why."

"I have a job to do! I cannot not go poking about! Besides, who said I was going to assist you?" Kagome's mouth ran without her brain stopping to think. Mr. Naraku was a dangerous man when he was alive, but now that he was dead there were no limits…no restrictions on what he could do. Perhaps, it would be smart to keep her mouth shut for a time.

"Well, now you have to jobs." He replied evenly, before grabbing her arm, and forcing her to lead the way to her hut. The walk to her house on Sesshomaru's property was a long one, at least half of an hour, but Naraku did not complain and Kagome did not comment. It was a silent walk as well; both travelers were locked in their own memories and refused to be sociable, which was fine by Kagome. She found that the more time she spent with Naraku, the more she grew annoyed by him…He was no gentleman to be sure, and he argued with her at every turn and won. It infuriated her, and yet secretly enticed her, although she would never admit it to a soul.

Kagome also hated to admit that she was somewhat anticipating having another beating heart pounding in her one room shack. It had been a lonely four years, since her mother died. And, because father was a foreign term, Kagome grew up alone. Although it was very lonely, Kagome found that she enjoyed the peace that came with the quite loneliness. It was a rather bitter- sweet peacefulness that was only brought with extreme solitude. The nights were quiet, and they cradled the tired Kagome, partly because the days had been so rough. Working in another's needs did very little for your own, and Kagome knew the envy that came with that very well. Living on another man's land did not do much for Kagome either, at any moment Judge Sesshomaru could snatch her little house of sticks and mud away from her, and that was certainly no way to live. And yet, Kagome knew no other way.

The journey was soon coming to a close, and Kagome and Mr. Naraku were at the edge of Sesshomaru's Wood, where all of his servants lived. In the pitch-blackness, over fifty lit candles could be seen fighting off the darkness with a burning force. It looked, from afar, that hundreds of tiny fireflies had scattered themselves all over the large area, and could almost be considered beautiful. So much vibrant, wasted life was accounted for, and it nearly made Kagome sad, but she was used to seeing this beautifully depressing sight. She doubted Mr. Naraku cared either way.

She steered him down the dirt path that led to her house. She reached the end of the path, and steered off into the unpaved forest, far from the other huts. About fifteen meters west of the dirt road there sat a small hut.

"Why do you live separately from the other servants?" Mr. Naraku sliced through the silence.

Kagome took her time answering his question. She pushed open the door, and fumbled around the dark hut, until she managed to find a candle, which she lit. The sudden light spread out over the room, revealing a very modest setting with a large trunk in the middle of the room. "It was given to us by Sesshomaru's uncle." Kagome finally answered his question, not revealing anymore than she had to. She did not feeling going over her tangled past with a man she barely knew at such a time of night.

"I have a spare mat that you can sleep on tonight. It's a bit dusty but it will have to do." Kagome said while slamming a dusty mat into his chest, sending the dirt flying.

"Well don't go out of your way for little old me." He replied with a glare.

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**Xanadu is not mine…it's Orson Welles.**

**Yes that was a long absence, and I'm sorry. I won't even pretend that we don't all have tons of work to do, so I'm sure most of you understand. I have not dropped the story, to the reveiewer who seemed to think so. **

**You all proved me wrong when you said NK wasn't popular...who knew?**

**I want to thank all of my reviewers...and to **

******Elementsofmine** : **THANK YOU for putting me in your C2 group. I feel so loved...although I don't know what C2 actually is...but i know it has alot of NK fanfiction which is very cool.**

**Also to Profiler120: I never would have taken up NK If i hadn't read Blind Stitch My Heart....  
**


	4. FOUR

Between a Rock and a Hard Place 

BY_ captain obvious_

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**FOUR**

_"We must hang together, or surely we shall hang separately" - Benjamin Franklin_

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Kagome was nervous. It was not in her routine to spy on her boss. Up until this point, she worked and he paid her. Their relationship did not get more complex than that. Now, Mr. Naraku wanted her to upset the gentle balance, the tender flow of her life with some conspiracy nonsense. Kagome knew that the only reason she was going along with this was because it wasn't nonsense- perhaps Judge Sesshomaru was trying to get rid of him.

Why, was the question she had to answer, or at the very least she had to come up with some good theories. "What should I be looking for? I can't exactly search the man's house with no specific object in mind. I can't get fired for procrastination. Judge Sesshomaru gives ten minute break, so I'll have to do it then," Kagome turned to the man sitting on her floor, pretending to meditate.

Mr. Naraku was thinking, and it involved seeing his uncle and Sesshomaru together at his execution. "Look for letters in the Judge's office addressed to or from my uncle,"

Kagome frowned. "What's the Judge have to do with your uncle? Why would Judge Sesshomaru associate with a man like Mr. Oniguma?" Kagome reddened when she realized that she had insulted Mr. Naraku's uncle to his face, but calmed with he did not appear angry.

"Sesshomaru is a crooked judge and my uncle is a conniving criminal. Why wouldn't they socialize with each other?" Kagome had no answer that seemed respectable for that, so she remained quiet.

"Don't look so nervous. You are going to give yourself away. Keep your eyes open for anything," Mr. Naraku instructed.

"What are you going to do all day? Make yourself useful and do something productive," Kagome continued her thoughts in her mind, "_You are staying_ _in my house against my will…"_

"I do not do manual labor. Once my innocence is proven, you will be paid for your services,"

Kagome just nodded curtly at him; she was not at all sure if he could be trusted, but she decided to believe him until she found a reason not to. Kagome left her hut without another word, and hoped that she would come out of the day unscathed.

Kagome walked onto the main path, which led to the Judge's house. She dove into the wave of workers off to serve Sesshomaru, yet again giving him another day of their precious lives.

She marched up to the servant's door, when the heavy traffic had cleared. Her breath was coming out of her lungs in short puffs, and she hoped no one noticed. She shook her head, and made the decision not to think about what she had to do.

"The sooner I do this, the sooner that man can get out of my house," she whispered in her mind.

"You got Inuyasha's room again, Kagome," Kagome bit her lip with intense anger.

"What?" She said, trying to remain calm. Kagome looked up to see Sango smiling sadly at her.

"They supposedly drew names, and yours just happened to be the lucky one again. Sorry,"

"But we were rotating," Kagome protested.

"The rotating landed on the "Queen" herself, and so naturally that did not sit well with her." The "Queen" was the head cook's daughter, and she thought that the world was her palace. Kagome wondered how she could think that when she had to scrub the Judge's floors everyday...

"I'm so angry, but there's nothing I can do,"

"You can't make a scene," Sango said sadly, as she fastened a loose string on her uniform.

…………………

Cleaning Inuyasha's room was not such a bad thing, in itself. It was dealing with Inuyasha that was the hard part. He was surly and enjoyed his room as he left it, but he knew the rules as well as Kagome. _All the rooms had to be cleaned everyday, including the most difficult ones. _The Judge was a hard man to defy.

Kagome knocked on his door, and waited for the door to swing open in anger. When the expected happened, she was forced to look into the enraged face of her employer's son. "Good Morning to you sir," She greeted.

"What do you want?" He snapped.

Kagome withheld a sigh, "I've come to tidy the room, Master Inuyasha," Kagome kept her voice light and polite, despite his attitude.

"It's fine the way it is," His yellow eyes burned with unneeded anger. His cheeks were flushed with red blood.

"That's not what your father thinks," Kagome continued to speak in her extremely perky and even faker voice.

Inuyasha glared down at her. His face swooped down, and it was directly in front of hers, and the heat from his breath fell on her virgin cheeks. "Kagome, you know as well as I that this room will look the same if not worse tomorrow. Why do you bother?" He spoke to her on familiar terms; they had grown up together. He expected to see the fire fairy he had always remembered to finally rear her pretty head. He missed the way Kagome had once been, before she became a heathen and he became a god.

Kagome sighed, as she did not meet his sweltering eyes. She had given up a long time ago. _"Because it is my purpose in life,"_

Kagome pushed past her master, and entered his bedroom. She expected him to stomp down to the breakfast table and throw food down his throat, but he followed her instead, pushing the door close.

"I won't accept that. There's more to you than that. You have more purpose than I ever shall. I am here to drink strong spirits, entertain several blushing maids, and then die a fat and fickle man. You, Kagome, are so much more,"

"Oh! What do you know, Inuyasha?" She grumbled in anger. His unexpected praise brought a humiliated blush to her cheeks.

"For an ignorant snob, more than you would think. I would love to see the look on your face when you realize that I am right,"

"What's stopping you?" She said, as she began to pick up his carelessly laid clothes off the floor.

"I'll most likely be dead by then. Worthless men like myself don't live long enough to tell our tales to future worthless men. We die before we can stop the cycle," Fully shaken by his words, Kagome inhaled, before continuing to act nonchalant.

"Don't be silly Inuyasha! You will live to be a ripe old man," Kagome realized she was speaking more for her comfort than his.

Inuyasha continued to speak, as though she'd never spoken. "It's sad fate I have befallen, but I only have myself to blame for the account of my life. What a needless amount of space I have taken up, from a child who needs it more. What a needless amount of space," He looked at the shining sun that lit his angelic face, not stopping to shade his eyes from the harsh sunlight. Kagome moved his body away from the harming sunlight, and struggled to keep back tears.

…………………………..

"Judge, I have a proposal for a new schoolhouse. The one we have now is just too old, and it's not safe for the children and Miss Ami. I think we could build a new school rather cheaply, and it would only help you when election time comes round again…" Kagome poked her around the corner and watched as the town sheriff pitched an idea to Judge Sesshomaru. It was well known that the sheriff was a talkative man, who never quite grasped the idea of keeping his mouth shut. He'd keep the Judge occupied long enough.

Once the two men had rounded another corner, Kagome dashed from one side of the hallway to the other. She searched the area for signs of life, and found none. She then turned her attention to the door in front of her. She slowly opened the door, and made sure no one else was in the room. When she was sure she was alone, Kagome stepped into the room, and shut the door behind her. She had to make this quick.

With her breath caught in her throat, Kagome walked over to the Judge's desk. She began to carefully scan all the neatly stacked papers on the desk, making sure to put them back exactly where she had found them. Kagome found nothing at all resembling what she was looking for.

"This was an idiotic idea," she muttered, preparing to give up. She was uncomfortable with the entire idea, and wanted to get out of the room as soon as possible. She began to go to the door, when she heard voices down the hall. Kagome froze, and listened closely. The voices were coming directly towards her, so she hid in the closet nearest the door. She left the closet door slightly ajar, so she could see who came through the door. The Judge himself jiggled the door handle, and entered his office.

"Yes, I completely agree with you. If it were up to me, you would have your school, but it is not completely up to me. I must talk it over with my business partner," The Judge walked over to his desk, after shutting the door to his office. He left the sheriff in the hallway, while he wrote a note to his "business partner" concerning the town's need for a new school. Judge Sesshomaru pulled a key out of his pocket, and used it to open a small drawer that was hidden under all of his papers. The Judge lifted up the small drawer, and pulled out a random letter. He needed to copy the address, so he could send the note via messenger. After copying the address and scribbling a quick note, the Judge rolled up the parchment and went outside to call for a messenger.

Kagome waited for the Judge to close his door, before scrambling over to the secret compartment that he had carelessly left open. She opened the compartment, and read the name on the letters: Oniguma.

………….

I warn that this is not edited, I didn't want to delay the deliver of this chapter any longer. I'm very sorry for the lack of updates… Minor writer's block.

Obvious.


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